Has apocalyptic thinking contributed to some of our nation's biggest problems—inequality, permanent war, and the despoiling of our natural resources? From the Puritans to the present, historian and public policy advocate Betsy Hartmann sheds light on a pervasive but—until now—invisible theme shaping the American mindset: apocalyptic thinking, or the belief that the end of the world is nigh. Hartmann makes a compelling case that apocalyptic fears are deeply intertwined with the American ethos, to our detriment. In The America Syndrome, she seeks to reclaim human agency and, in so doing, revise the national narrative. By changing the way we think, we just might change the world.
When writer Hammond Sinclair arrives in Geneva to follow the World Climate Conference at first hand, he is not only interested in the global warming controversy. He suspects that a former student of his, now a right-wing extremist, is plotting a spectacular terrorist attack to disrupt the summit. In a city overrun by rival mobs of violent demonstrators from all over Europe, he meets a young anarchist girl, and in order to impress her takes part in a public debate. It plunges him into the maelstrom of an ideological conflict with high stakes, where opposing sides have their own visions of apocalypse, and are prepared to do anything to save humanity from the catastrophe they foresee. Chief Commissaire Vauthey of the Geneva Police has his own problems with a new female Police Chief who is trying to oust him. When a body is discovered buried in the snow on an alpine pass, the rival factions in the police pursue radically different trails. But even the help of a woman inspector from Scotland Yards Special Branch may not be enough to allow Vauthey to uncover the terrorist plot before the fanatical believers in apocalypse try to trigger their own Armageddon. A cliff-hanging thriller with an intellectual theme and a plot right out of todays headlines, this novel explores the ways in which visions of planetary doom may push activists to extreme violence, in a desperate attempt to change the fate of mankind. www.michael-antony.com
No one is better equipped than psychiatrist Robert Jay Lifton-a leading scholar of thought control and mass violence- to make sense of the extreme moment. From Hiroshima survivors to Nazi doctors, from Vietnam veterans to the cult that sarin-gassed the Tokyo subways, he has explained to us global apocalyptic urges, the ravages of psychic numbness, and the psychology of the survivor. Now, as al- Qaeda's desire to purify the earth of "evil" meets the unilateral urge to dominate the globe's sole superpower, Lifton believes we have arrived at a remarkably perilous moment. The United States-from its leaders to much of its people-feels itself painfully vulnerable and thinks of itself as a survivor nation. The combination of such feelings roiling through the land over the last year and an administration with unprecedented military power bent on dominating and purifying the earth adds up to an intensely dangerous atmosphere-in fact, a "syndrome." Unfortunately, there is no therapy available for empires-or rather, the only therapy available is self-prescribed. But while Lifton can't be therapist to the earth's last superpower, he can bring together a half century of wisdom and apply it to Superpower Syndrome.
What started as a "flu" outbreak on a military base proves deadlier than Ebola and more contagious than the Spanish Flu. Sympatico Syndrome is unlike anything the world has ever seen. Victims' behavior is changing to accommodate the rapid spread of the virus. Former Navy epidemiologist Cole Evans is well aware of the rare, infectious diseases the military studies. He also knows, first-hand, the government's stance on sharing information with the public, so if the media has already learned about the disease, then it's far too late to contain the outbreak. Cole's only chance to save his family is to establish a safe haven. Isolated, hard to reach, and with enough space for his brother's family as well, he has the perfect location--if only they can all reach it before they're infected... Get this exciting post-apocalyptic thriller today.
As a deadly virus decimates the world's population, survivors struggle to find each other. After all, nobody wants to be Alone at the End of the World. Thirteen-year-old Ethan should be practicing his skateboard moves, not watching his family members die, one by one. He knows he could become a victim of the evil infection at any minute. Scared and alone, he fills his backpack and goes in search of other survivors, hoping he lives long enough to find someone. Anyone. When Cassie sees the bodies of neighbors and strangers littering what had been pristine front lawns, she realizes her intense focus on business and family may have saved their lives. How does a single mom and her two kids survive an apocalypse alone? Noah emerges from his two-week fishing trip in the Northwoods of Wisconsin, shocked to learn that a devastating pandemic has swept the world. Should he venture into the fray to find other survivors or retreat into the woods and isolate himself as long as he can?When their paths converge, they face a new struggle ─ learning to trust total strangers as if their very survival depends on it... because it does. Sympatico Syndrome is intent on sparing no one.
Native American Rhetoric is the first book to explore rhetorical traditions from within individual Native communities and Native languages. The essays set a new standard for how rhetoric is talked about, written about, and taught. The contributors argue that Native rhetorical practices have their own interior logic, which is grounded in the morality and religion of their given traditions. Once we understand the ways in which Native rhetorical practices are rooted in culture and tradition, the phenomenological expression of the speech patterns becomes clear. The value of Native communities and their languages is underlined throughout the essays. Lawrence W. Gross and the contributors successfully represent several, but not all, Native communities across the United States and Mexico, including the Haudenosaunee, Anishinaabe, Choctaw, Nahua, Chickasaw and Chicana, Tohono O’odham, Navajo, Apache, Hupa, Lower Coast Salish, Koyukon, Tlingit, and Nez Perce. Native American Rhetoric will be an essential resource for continued discussions of Native American rhetorical practices in and beyond the discipline of rhetoric.
In this post-apocalyptic rollercoaster ride, philosopher Srećko Horvat invites us to explore the Apocalypse in terms of ‘revelation’ (rather than as the ‘end’ itself). He argues that the only way to prevent the end – i.e., extinction – is to engage in a close reading of various interconnected threats, such as climate crisis, the nuclear age and the ongoing pandemic. Drawing on the work of neglected philosopher Günther Anders, this book outlines a philosophical approach to deal with what Horvat, borrowing a term from climate science and giving it a theological twist, calls ‘eschatological tipping points’. These are no longer just the nuclear age or climate crisis, but their collision, conjoined with various other major threats – not only pandemics, but also the viruses of capitalism and fascism. In his investigation of the future of places such as Chernobyl, the Mediterranean and the Marshall Islands, as well as many others affected by COVID-19, Horvat contends that the ‘revelation’ appears simple and unprecedented: the alternatives are no longer socialism or barbarism – our only alternatives today are a radical reinvention of the world, or mass extinction. After the Apocalypse is an urgent call not only to mourn tomorrow’s dead today but to struggle for our future while we can.
-I guess it was inevitable - the end of the world we know - the end of humanity. Finding out early was a gift. Surviving impact night was a miracle. Living to tell the tale? Well that's the price I will have to pay ... forever. There's no going back now.- Award-winning author Matt J Pike returns with a captivating new series. For teenager Jack Baldwin, life as he knows it has always had an easy rhythm - family, friends, school and a regular schedule of Xbox. But when he's tipped off to impending global catastrophe, his casual existence is shaken to the core. Emerging from impact night, when a comet wipes out most of Earth's population, Jack quickly realises the real battle for survival has just begun. As supplies run low, the military disappears, neighbours turn on each other and the body count mounts, fellow survivors fast become the biggest threat of all. But they hadn't counted on his resources and resourcefulness. A gripping survival tale told in diary format.
As the walking dead rise up throughout the world, a few brave doctors attempt to find a cure by applying forensic techniques to captured zombies. On a remote island a crack medical team has been sent to explore a radical theory that could uncover a cure for the epidemic. Based on the team's research and the observations of renowned zombie expert Dr. Stanley Blum, The Zombie Autopsies documents for the first time the unique biology of zombie organisms. Detailed drawings of the internal organs of actual zombies provide an accurate anatomy of these horrifying creatures. Zombie brains, hearts, lungs, skin, and digestive system are shown, while Dr. Blum's notes reveal shocking insights into how they function--even as Blum and his colleagues themselves begin to succumb to the plague. No one knows the ultimate fate of Dr. Blum or his researchers. But now that his notebook, The Zombie Autopsies, has been made available to the UN, the World Health Organization, and the general public, his scientific discoveries may be the last hope for humans on earth. "Humanity has a new weapon against the living dead and that weapon is Steven Schlozman!" -- New York Times bestselling author Max Brooks "I've written and made films about zombies for over forty years. In all that time, I've never been able to convince my audience that zombies actually exist. On page one of The Zombie Autopsies, Steven Schlozman takes away any doubt. This fast-moving, entertaining work will have you chuckling...and worrying." -- George A. Romero, director of Night of the Living Dead "Gruesome and gripping! Steven Schlozman reveals the science behind zombies from the inside out." -- Seth Grahame-Smith, New York Times bestselling author of Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter "With The Zombie Autopsies, Steven Schlozman redefines 'weird science' for the 21st Century. Brilliant, bizarre and wonderfully disturbing." -- Jonathan Maberry, New York Times bestselling author of Rot & Ruin and Patient Zero "Dr. Steve's Zombie Autopsy will charm and excite a new generation into loving science." --Chuck Palahniuk, New York Times bestselling author of Fight Club
The final book of the Bible, Revelation prophesies the ultimate judgement of mankind in a series of allegorical visions, grisly images and numerological predictions. According to these, empires will fall, the "Beast" will be destroyed and Christ will rule a new Jerusalem. With an introduction by Will Self.